[AuralRelations]

Because you want accurate headphones with big a big sound stage. They are good bang for the buck in a way but not really. The headphones themselves can be seen as a really good value but you need to have an amp that is not only powerful, but pairs well with the AKG. They are very picky about amping and if you do not have a pretty high end amp, I would recommend staying away.

 

[SpudHarris]

I will be pairing mine with a Woo 6. According to the gents over on the Woo appreciation thread the 701's and 702's pair beautifully with the Woo 6. My tube set up I seem to go back to with most of my phones is the EML 5U4G Mesh + 6SN7GT 'Bad Boy' Sylvanias (1952).
 
I will spend some time with the 702 as stock before upgrading or making my own cable. I'm very exited at the thought of this combo..

 

[Teoman]

Thanks Acix!

I will be pairing them up with the low-end (correct me if I'm wrong, since they're the same price as a pizza delivery ) Bravo V2 (12AU7) tube amp. I've heard many great things about the combo. They're currently plugged directly into the Focusrite Saffire PRO 24 DSP, which is a professional audio interface with emphasis on the headphone outputs to utilize the Virtual Reference Monitoring technology.

With VRM turned on, it's scarey how well the AKG K702 simulates mixing / listening environments. It's like the technology was made for them. 

Cheers
 
 

 

[SpudHarris]

Well mine got here about an hour ago. Firstly they look the business, beautifully finished....
 
I've had a quick listen and no doubt most phones take a little gtting used to but man these things are bright. If there are any experts tuned into this thread could you comment at all on how these might mature? If they stay like this I don't know if I will keep them. Have only tried with my tube amp so god only knows what my SS amps will sound like.
 
I know there are the doubters out there but would a different cable help and also will burn in help?

 

[triodesteve]

Hook them up to some music and let them play for a week or two. I bought mine used (no idea how many hours) and they sounded dull and boring, lifeless even...After a week they have opened up and sound more like what I heard at 32ohms. I actually think that the top end is sort of recessed....
but I won't judge for another week or so. I'm also listening to a new dac that I'm unfamiliar with (istreamer)....maybe that's the culprit.
Enjoy

 

[AuralRelations]

I've had mine since June and I've probably logged 100+ hours on them and they still sound a bit bright. Brighter than my Grado RS2i for sure, which is quite scary. I'm going to try a recable when I get paid next time and see if that helps. The K702 would probably do well on a darker sounding system. 

 

[triodesteve]

If you look around at some other posts and reviews, 100 hours is just the tip of the iceberg. The general consensus seems to be 200 hours to start and improvements to 400! Granted that's a long time, but as a former Lowther owner its understandable. 

 

[SpudHarris]

They are now cooking hidden in my dining room cupboard so the missus doesn't moan about the leccy haha...
 
I've ordered a couple of mini female xlr's and already have a decent stock of 6.3mm and 3.5mm jack plugs. Have some Mogami neglex which I like but ran out of multi-fillament doh!

 

[genclaymore]

Better hope she dont finds them and dump them on the floor.

 

[colmustard]

@spud
 
yeah these things take forever to fully burn in, I'm at almost 500 hours on mine and I would say they still have a little ways to go.
 
That being said do not expect for the brightness to disapear with burn in. They certainly do balance out quite a bit, and the sibilance disapears aswell. But even with burn in I wouldn't call them neutral, they are certainly still bright. The bass will come out a little bit, to the point where it is always distinguishable, yet it will never be anything more than analytical. When I first got my k701's the bass would often become lost because it was so overpowered, this is no longer the case. The soundstage also improves ever so slightly
 
I can't tell you whether or not you will enjoy the k701 after burn in, but I can say that these headphones are not for everybody. Perhaps if you want anything but a bright sounding headphone then you should look into returning them. For me though they are simply fantastic because of what they can do with acoustic tracks.

 

[swbf2cheater]

I just got my K701s and I like them a lot, some vocals are sibilant to an unbearable level, most are silky and smooth.  I really like them, the stage is wide tall and deep and i cant wait to try them on a really nice amp
 
Instrumentals are amazing, michael buble is great, big band types but some rock vocals are very sibilant 

 

[SalsaPodio]

Quote:

I've had mine since June and I've probably logged 100+ hours on them and they still sound a bit bright. Brighter than my Grado RS2i for sure, which is quite scary. I'm going to try a recable when I get paid next time and see if that helps. The K702 would probably do well on a darker sounding system. 

Recabling won't help. Neither will burn in. Your ears will just get used to them.

 

[SpudHarris]

Just changed my tubes from 6SN7's to 6EW7 and they sound a little smoother. I guess I'll find a balance somewhere, there is deffinately a lot to like about these phones

 

[Teoman]

I'm sorry to read some of ya feel negatively towards the K702's. I loved them out of the box on my focusrite device. I can't seem to match the sound glossary you guys have expressed to my experience thus far, so it's a bit of a head scratcher for me, however it may just be what I was after, as I hear nothing but ear candy. Rock, Electronic Dance Music of all sub categories, Acoustic Solos and Orchestral Scores all in lossless quality and all sound amazing. I was surprised it does so many different genres so well.

It may possibly be the amps indeed, as we've read these headphones are very picky in terms of source and amps. Hopefully you can find the perfect synergy soon and enjoy them as much as I do.

Cheers

 

[genclaymore]

Same Teoman  I would have to make my self take them off, otherwise I will sit there for hours.